The present invention relates in general to a marine vessel monitoring system, and in particular to a marine vessel monitoring system which enables marine vessel owners to monitor their marine vessels when they are unable or not available to monitor their marine vessels.
Most boat or marine vessel owners leave their boat, yacht or vessel unattended and unmonitored for significant periods of time while docked or moored, or in dry storage. During these time periods, a number of things may happen (e.g., equipment/line failure, faulty through-hull fittings, intrusion, etc.) that may damage the boat or cause it to sink, or incur financial loss. Statistics show that for every one boat that sinks at sea, four boats sink at the dock or mooring. The costs to repair a boat that has been under water, even briefly, can be significant. In such situations, the owner of a boat must pay for the repairs not covered by insurance and is deprived of using his or her boat until the boat is repaired.
Moreover, boat owners know these risks are present and are generally concerned about their unattended or unmonitored boats. Some boat owners have people check their boats. However, there is no coordinated system for checking boats, checking certain components of the boat and for regularly reporting the status of the boats to the boat owners. Accordingly, there is a need for an efficient and timely monitoring system that enables vessel owners to monitor their vessels when they are unable or unavailable to do so themselves.
The marine vessel monitoring system of the present invention overcomes the above problems by providing a system for conducting thorough, interior and exterior periodic inspections and/or remotely monitoring designated boats, or vessels, for taking immediate corrective action, if necessary, to fix or repair any deficiencies noted during the inspection, and for immediately reporting or making available the results of inspections and monitoring reports and the corrective actions taken, if any, to the boat""s owner so he or she stays informed on the current status of his or her boat. The information collected from these inspections and repairs is also preferably used to create historical databases for the boats monitored by the system.
In one embodiment of the present invention, sensors are placed on the vessel to monitor certain critical systems and conditions on the vessel. For example, sensors are provided for monitoring the operation of the bilge pump, monitoring smoke and fire detectors and monitoring battery voltage levels. The sensors are connected or hard-wired to a communication unit such as a telemetry unit. This communication unit is adapted to communicate with a central monitoring system at least in part over a wireless link.
The preferred embodiment includes a telemetry unit which generates and transmits a telemetry signal which contains coded data representing the state of the components or systems monitored by the various sensors deployed on the vessel. The monitoring system enables personnel remotely located from the vessel to receive this vessel data or telemetry data from the vessel and monitor or determine the vessel""s condition. Thus, certain critical aspects of the vessel""s condition may be continuously monitored without necessitating an actual physical inspection. If the telemetry data indicate a problem with one or more of the on board systems or conditions of the vessel, the remote monitoring system receives this information and enables personnel at the monitoring stations to contact the proper authority or designated organization or entity to address the problem identified in the telemetry data.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a vessel monitoring system.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a vessel monitoring system that provides the vessel owner information on a vessel""s condition.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a vessel monitoring system that immediately repairs or takes corrective action to fix any repairs identified during the detailed inspection and/or monitoring of the vessel.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed disclosure, taken in conjunction with the accompanying sheets of drawings, wherein like numerals refer to like parts, components or steps.